A Year at Hogwarts
by zeropolis79
Summary: [REPOST] After living in Australia for ten years, Harry is arrested at the Quidditch World Cup and forced to attend Hogwarts just as the Triwizard Tournament is held.. what will the future hold? Dumbledore bashing.
1. Chapter 1

**Here is the first chapter of the new and improved **_**Year at Hogwarts**_**. I've taken on board everything commented upon in the reviews and hopefully come up with something better.**

**A Year at Hogwarts**

Harry Potter looked at the weird looking building he was being taken too and reflected on things that had brought him there, going back ten years.

_He was on holiday in Australia with his evil relatives – the Dursleys. From what he knew at the time, Petunia Dursley was his mother's sister, married to Vernon and his cousin was called Dudley. They had received an invitation to Petunia's younger sister's wedding (she was actually Lily Potter's twin sister) and the invitation specifically mentioned Harry and knew questions would be asked if he wasn't there, so they had to take him. They saw it as a chance to get rid of Harry once and for all and so had papers secretly prepared to deal with it. He was three years old at the time._

_The moment they got there, Petunia ordered her sister to sign the papers transferring custody of Harry to her otherwise she would not be responsible for what could and would happen if she didn't. Sarah and her husband Alex had a lot of work to do in order to undo what the Dursleys had done to him – physically and mentally._

_When he was six, they told him he was a wizard. Sarah was a witch herself. Petunia wasn't – she and Vernon hated the thought of it and drummed it into Harry that magic did not exist. At first, Harry didn't believe it but Sarah showed him magic._

_When he was 11, he was invited to attend both Hogwarts in England and the Sydney Academy in Australia. Harry choose to go to the Academy, not wanting to be too far from his family._

_Earlier in the year, his cousin Todd died after being knocked over by a car. He looked as if he was going to recover but he took a turn for the worse and sadly died. He had left a girlfriend who was pregnant with his child. His death hit Harry very hard. During the summer holidays, in order to cheer him up, Harry was invited by his best friend to go to the Quidditch World Cup in England and with his aunt and uncle's consent, accepted. However, after the game, the grounds were attacked by strange men in weird masks. The group grabbed their belongings and made a break for it. However, the group got separated in the confusion. Harry was seen by some people who took him away following the appearance of a strange mark in the sky._

_He was taken to a hearing at was explained to him to be the Ministry of Magic, where it was made clear that he was reported missing eleven years ago by a Squib and was never found. It appeared that the Dursleys never informed the British Ministry about a change in guardianship, which by law they were supposed to. The Ministry refused to listen to Harry about his guardians in Australia and told him that until the issue of permanent guardianship was dealt with, he was to be placed in foster care and given a placement at Hogwarts. He heard them mention someone called Black and his claims over the boy._

_Both someone called Cornelius Fudge (who turned out to be the Minister of Magic) and Albus Dumbledore (who Harry knew by reputation was the Hogwarts headmaster) kept opposing motions by a Delores Umbridge to send him to Azkaban pending such a hearing and Dumbledore suggested the Weasley family. Fudge supported it as two members of the family were working for the Ministry – one of them was a Head of Department. Before Harry and an Auror left the room, Fudge also rejected a motion from Umbridge to confiscate Harry's wand until the latest term at Hogwarts began. She did tell him that owl post was forbidden, he was not to use the floo and he was not allowed to leave the house without someone to supervise him. His bag had been confiscated and Umbridge would not allow the return of it, citing it was 'evidence in a criminal investigation'. Harry began to protest but Fudge declared the hearing closed. Before leaving, the Auror who was escorting him gave him his bag. Her boss - the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had authorised the return of it and it's contents. She explained that they were checked for Portkeys and nothing else. _

Now, he was being escorted to this house which looked like it was being held up by magic (and Harry guessed it was – some of the upper levels looked so unstable, they might fall off at any moment) by an Auror. The woman who was escorting him to the house (who happened to have bright pink hair) stopped and knocked the door. It opened and a middle-age woman answered it.

"Morning Nymphadora." She said. The other woman scowled, apparently not liking the mention of her name. She turned to Harry, "Morning dear. My name is Molly Weasley." She showed Harry and the other girl in and led them to the kitchen. There was a group sitting around the table.

"I saw you at the World Cup!" one of the five boys said.

"This is Harry Potter," Molly Weasley said, "He'll be staying with us until Hogwarts begins. Harry dear, these are my sons Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron and my daughter Ginny." They all said hello. Ginny went red.

"You'll have to ignore her mate," the one indicated as Fred (or was it George) said, "She's had a crush on you for years."

Molly told Harry to sit down while she sorted him out some breakfast.

"Where have you been? People have been looking for you for over ten years!" Bill asked.

"Well, they didn't do a very good job. I've been living in Australia for ten years with my aunt and uncle." Harry answered.

"We heard you were living with Muggles and going through their education system." Charlie added.

"Well, I spent two years with Muggles – my aunt, uncle and cousin are Muggles. My other aunt, who I've been living with is a witch while my other uncle is a Muggle but my two cousins are witches. I've also been attending the Sydney Academy for three years. My cousins will be starting there long after I'm finished."

He told them about the school. Bill had heard of the school, he had a pen-friend who attended there in the 80's.

"What brings you to our humble abode?" George asked.

"Well, because the Dursleys – my Muggle relatives didn't notify anyone I was now living in Australia, I was listed as missing because there are wards and stuff on the Dursley home to say if I was there. I laughed when they brought the Dursleys into the hearing and punished them for doing so and for taking me out of the country – apparently, I'm not allowed out of England for some weird reason."

He looked at them. "I know all about this Boy-Who-Lived thing. What are people here like about it? People in Australia are respectful of it but don't ask questions and I prefer that. Why should I be famous because someone killed my parents?" Harry asked.

"There are people who are obsessed with you." Charlie answered, "Expect lots of stares and stuff while at Hogwarts."

"Does anyone have an owl? I need to get a message to my friend before they return to Australia so they can inform Aunt Sarah what is happening."

The pinked haired Auror turned to him. "I'm sorry, but remember Delores Umbridge has forbidden you from sending owl post."

"What right does she had to do that? I am not even a British citizen." asked Harry.

"She's the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, Harry, so she has the right to do whatever she wants."

"Could you find the Samson family before they get the international Portkey back to Australia please, and inform them of what has happened."

"I'll try to do that at least," She said, "Oh, my name is Tonks."

She left the house. Molly Weasley carried on preparing food. The Weasley children looked outraged at what the Ministry was doing.

"So," Harry said, "Do you lot attend Hogwarts?"

"I graduated six years ago – I now work for Gringotts," Bill said, "Charlie here finished a year before you would have started. He now works for a Romanian dragon preserve. Our other brother Percy, he's not here right now, began working for the Ministry a month ago – working in the Department of Magical Co-operation."

"He worships his boss," Fred (or George) said, "if Dad didn't make him, he wouldn't come home after work. It's Mr. Crouch this, Mr. Crouch that. They'll be announcing an engagement soon." Most of the room laughed.

"Do you play Quidditch?" Ron asked, changing the subject.

"Not at the moment. I played Chaser on my house team but I had to stop due to some health issues." Harry answered. The others wisely chose not to press it.

"So Harry, any broken hearts down under?" Fred asked.

"Sadly no. As soon as my family find out what's going on, they'll be kicking up a right stink about this. Then I'll be seeing my friends and family again." Harry got out a wallet which had a picture of him with a group of people. "This is my year house group."

"Harry Potter." a voice said. Everyone turned and saw a man standing at the door.

"Hello Harry, it's been a long time since I saw you last." He said. Holding out his hand, he continued, "My name is Sirius Black, your godfather." Determined to be polite, Harry walked over and shook it. He sat back down.

"Now, what have you been up to? I heard you were kidnapped and taken out of the country."

Harry told him what had been going on. When Harry mentioned what the Dursleys had done, Sirius Black looked as if he was going to lose his temper. He was close to losing it over the lies he had been told.

"Alright Harry, since I was supposed to be your rightful guardian, I will deal with the Dursleys." He said, explaining that on the deaths of Harry's parents, either him or Aunt Sarah were to be his guardians, not the Dursleys.

"Does that mean I'll have to come and live with you?" Harry said, with sorrow in his voice.

"If it was up to me Harry, after what I know now, then I would just let you stay with Sarah Evans. Sadly, Dumbledore and the Ministry have filed a custody case regarding you and I can't get it cancelled. You must understand Harry, that a week ago, we didn't even know if you were alive or dead. The Dursleys never told us of the change in guardianship. If the Ministry rule in my favour at the hearing, I will exercise my rights to sign it over to Sarah."

"Thank you Sirius." Harry said, "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."

"No problem kid." Sirius said, "I would rather you stayed in a home where you are happy rather than one that you were unhappy in. Tell you what, if you like, you can stay with me if you visit during holidays or if you don't mind, when you return to Australia, I'll like to come with you."

Harry was unsure what to say. "Thank you." He said.

"Right," Sirius said, turning to Molly, "This is a time to celebrate, have the Hogwarts letters arrived yet?" She nodded. "I'm going to take you all to Diagon Alley and buy you all your supplies!" Everyone looked gobsmacked.

"You don't have to Sirius, we can manage." Molly said.

"Don't talk like that Molly!" Sirius said, "You're looking after Harry. This'll be my way of thanking you. I won't take no for an answer." Molly had to admit she was beaten. Following a floo call to Hogwarts, Harry had his book list – he had to get the Hogwarts text for Ancient Runes and Arthirmancy along with the core subjects. Education was very different at Sydney.

Please review, with thanks to those who do.


	2. Chapter 2

_Apologies for the unbeta'ed state of this chapter, it's becoming very problematic getting chapters to my proof-reader, but as soon as I can get them beta'ed, I'll be uploading the refreshed versions. I hope this chapter satisfies each of you who felt Harry was too calm considering the situation. The Weasleys did nothing wrong, so he has no cause to go after them._

**Chapter Two**

An hour later, the group went to Diagon Alley. The first stop after arriving there was to Gringotts where Sirius withdrew money from the main Black vaults.

The stop after that was Florish and Blotts to buy the school books. Ron, the twins and Ginny looked stunned at being brought brand new books. Bill explained to Harry later on in private that the Weasley family were so poor, they had to rely on a scholarship type scheme from Hogwarts to get the children through but it only stretched to buying second hand books and robes. "Charlie and I send a bit of money when we can which helps a little."

Then the next stop was to Madam Malkin's to purchase school robes for Harry, who was in a very foul mood about it. It was the first time he could vent his frustration about the whole situation – he wasn't going to take it out on the Weasley family because it wasn't their fault, but he knew that if he saw Minister Fudge or Delores Umbridge anytime soon, he would hex them and so hoped, for their own sake, the whole issue was sorted out as soon as possible. He realised Dumbledore did what he thought was best considering what he believed but was angry because he didn't do enough.

"I know you don't want Hogwarts robes Harry," Sirius explained, "But it's best to go along with it for now until the custody case is heard, following which, you will be able to return to your old school."

New robes were brought for the others too. Ollivander's was the next stop.

"I wondered when I would be seeing you here Mr. Potter. It seemed only yesterday that your parents were in here buying their first wands." The wand maker said. He gave Harry the creeps.

"I already have a wand sir. My aunt brought it for me in Australia." Harry said.

"May I see it please?" Ollivander asked. Harry handed it over and it was inspected. "A fine piece of work here. Did you get it from a person called Yarkanos?" Harry nodded. "A fine wand maker, he is. Take good care of this wand Mr. Potter, it will serve you well."

Sirius stepped forward. "We're here to buy new wands for the Weasley children." There were looks of shock and they were about to protest, but Sirius held his hand up. "I said I was going to buy the supplies and that is that."

Within an hour, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny stepped out of Ollivanders with brand new wands. Previously, the twins had been using the wands of Molly Weasley's elder brothers (both twins), Ron was using Charlie's wand while Ginny was using her grandmother's wand.

While everyone was occupied with the wands, Harry slipped away. He didn't trust that pink-haired Auror to tell his friends what was going on, so he would raise the alarm himself. He went to the nearest shop which was Madam Malkin's.

"What can I do for you Mr. Potter?" she asked him.

"This is an emergency – I need to make a Floo call. Can I use your fire please?" he asked.

"If it's an emergency, go ahead." She said, pointing it out.

Harry took some powder from the side and threw it into the fire. "Australian Embassy, Office of Jeffery Ramsey." Harry knew he'd never be able to make an international floo call, so would call someone who would be able to. He stuck his head through the fire.

"What can I do for you?" an attractive secretary asked.

"I need to speak to Ambassador Ramsey regarding a matter of the utmost importance." Harry said.

"I'm afraid he's in a meeting right now. Is there anything I can help you with?" the secretary asked.

"Yes. I don't have a lot of time however. My name is Harry James Potter, an Australian resident who lives at 22 Stardust Street, Sydney. Two days ago, at the Quidditch World Cup, held here in England, I was abducted by English Aurors on the orders of Albus Dumbledore, and am being forced to live with a family called Weasley at a home called the Burrow, Ottery St Catchpole, and attend Hogwarts until my guardianship is dealt with. Here is a letter with all the details and Pensive memories of everything, including a farcical criminal trial I was subjected too. I'm one step close to being sent to Azkaban." He had written the letter and extracted the memories while using the bathroom and passed it over to the secretary, whose attention had been attracted the moment he used the words Australian resident and abducted.

"That is very serious Mr. Potter - I'll get Ambassador Ramsey onto this at once!" She said.

"Thank you. I have to go – if I'm caught making a floo call, it'll be straight to Azkaban." Harry said as he removed his head. He thanked Madam Malkin and made his way back to Ollivanders. Luckily, they were still sorting out a wand for Ginny and no-one had missed him.

Sirius noted the Weasleys looking in the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies and so he and Harry stopped to look with them.

"Do you play Quidditch?" Sirius asked.

"I used to," Harry said, "I was a Chaser on my House team until an accident last year forced me to take a long break from the game."

"What happened?" Fred asked.

"I got hit by a couple of Bludgers and fell from my broom and landed on my leg, breaking it in several places. It was deemed unsafe to heal it with magic, so it had to be done the Muggle way. Even after it healed, it was still not right, so they put a Muggle brace on it," Harry said, lifting up his trouser leg to reveal a Muggle brace holding it in place, "to help keep everything in balance. Hopefully, I'll be able to rejoin the team in a couple of years."

"What broom do you use?" George asked.

"A Supersweep Four." Harry answered. The Weasleys looked at him – the Superweep Four was the Australian equivalent to the Nimbus 2000.

Sirius took the group into the shop where after much deliberation and negotiations, brought Nimbus 2001's for Ron, Fred, George and Ginny. He then brought Harry a Firebolt.

"Consider it a late birthday present." Sirius said.

"Thank you." Harry said.

On the way back to the Leaky Cauldron, Harry stopped and looked at Eelops Owl Emporium. A snowy white owl was watching him. Harry went into the shop and the owner watched as the owl continued to watch Harry.

"Looks like she likes you young man." The owner said. He pointed his wand at the cage which opened and the owl flew onto Harry's shoulder and nibbled his ear.

"How much?" Harry asked.

"No charge – I know you'll take great care of her."

"Thank you." Harry said.

As they returned to the Burrow, there looked like what Ginny later described as a 'Molly Weasley Tantrum'.

"What do you think you're doing buying all that for us?" Molly asked in a loud voice. Sirius decided to tell some home truths.

"Molly, who helped me when my house was destroyed by Death Eaters? You and Arthur. Who spent five years fighting to help prove my innocence? You and Arthur. Who helped clear my name by finding Wormtail? You and Arthur. Who helped nurse me back to health after I was released from Azkaban? You and Arthur. You wouldn't let me give you anything for everything you've done for me so I decided to finally do something about it." Sirius said.

"But, that's a lot of money.." Mrs. Weasley began.

"Molly – what I spent is peanuts compared to what is in the Black Vaults," Sirius said, "You need help financial wise and I've done what I can..." he began but realised he said too much.

"What do you mean by that?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Sirius knew he had talked himself into a right pickle. "I didn't intend to tell you this. Just after my release from Azkaban, Lucius Malfoy, as a school governor, passed a rule saying funding for 'blood traitors' was to stop. There is no scholarship fund to get the children through Hogwarts. I talked Dumbledore into not letting you know and I've paid the school fees for all the children from then until Ginny's last year. I also slipped money into your vault since then, not too much so not to attract attention. I know what you're like. How about this one – Arthur works in his department at the Ministry for nothing."

Both Molly and Arthur looked shocked and surprised at this.

"What do you mean – Arthur works for free?" Mrs. Weasley asked with shock and anger in his voice.

"According to Fudge's secretary, Malfoy convinced him to drop the budget to the Misuse of Muggle Artifact's Office to nothing. I've been paying the wages of both Arthur and Perkins. As I said, I don't give a lot as not to attract much attention, I know how proud you are and it would shame you to accept charity. Malfoy also saw to it that the Prewitt money was confiscated following your brother's deaths."

"He did what?" Molly shouted, she was beginning to turn purple.

"He did and guess who got the money?" Sirius asked.

"Malfoy." Everyone answered.

"Got it in one. There's just too much corruption going about the Ministry thanks to Malfoy and the Death Eaters," Sirius said, "Before you say anything Molly," he continued, Molly was looking at him, "You cannot give me any of the money back. Unlike Malfoy, you deserve to have the best of everything and now everything is out in the open, I'm going to make sure of it."

"Thank you." Arthur said. Molly was unsure what to say.

That night, after he was sure everyone had gone to bed, Harry crept downstairs and outside. He was hoping he had the time factor right and it was the right time in Australia (when he and his friend arrived in the UK, their watches changed time to UK time). He had a two way mirror which was untraceable.

"Sarah Falk." He said to it. A few moments later, the face of his Aunt Sarah appeared on it.

"_Harry! What's going on? The Samsons told me you were taken during a Death Eater attack at the Quidditch World Cup before they were forced to take the departing Portkey._" She asked.

"That's right – English Aurors took me away and the Ministry of Magic put me on trial for being out of the country illegally!" he said and with anger in his voice, he explained what was going on.

"_I'm going to raise a right stink about this with our Ministry._" Aunt Sarah said.

"I've already managed to get a message to our embassy here and hopefully Ambassador Ramsey will be sorting things out this end." Harry said.

"_What's that family you're like with?_" Aunt Sarah asked.

"The Weasleys have been nice." Harry said, "If we take action against anyone here, then the Weasleys must be left out of it – they've not done anything wrong and I'd rather stay with them than in Azkaban."

"_They wanted to send you to Azkaban?_" an outraged Aunt Sarah asked.

"Yeah – Fudge's bitchy undersecretary wanted me sent there. Thankfully, Dumbledork and Fudge opposed it." Harry said. Aunt Sarah ignored the bad language.

"_Hold tight – we'll get this whole thing sorted out. Try and call back when you can._" Aunt Sarah said before hanging up.

The following day, Ambassador Ramsey went to the Ministry to talk to Minister Fudge and Amelia Bones of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"Morning Ambassdor, what I can I do for you?" Fudge asked.

"For a start, you can recede the restrictions your Undersecretary placed on Harry Potter, a citizen of Australia as if he was a common criminal."

"I don't know what you mean." Fudge said.

"Don't give me that Minister," Ramsey said, "I saw the Pensive memories of that farce of a trial she held against one of our citizens."

"Harry Potter is a national treasure and belongs in England." Fudge said.

"You lot didn't care when he was dumped with registered magic haters, treated like a slave and subject to that many beatings, it nearly killed him," Ramsey said, "We've done some checking on the legal side of things. As registered magic haters, the Dursley family was not supposed to have him under any circumstances. With Sirius Black in prison, his legal guardian was Mrs. Sarah Falk, or Sarah Evans as she was known at the time of the Potter's deaths. Before you go on about blood relatives, she was a sister of the late Lily Potter."

"From what we were told Ambassador," Madam Bones said, "The Dursleys informed Albus Dumbledore that there was to be no contact by anyone magical otherwise they would not be responsible for what happened to Harry after such a visit. That's why no-one from the Ministry checked up on him."

"And you actually listened to that?" Ramsey asked, astonished, "That should have told you something. We will be perusing things with the Muggle government involving them – by the end of it, they will never harm another child again. By law, the Ministry of Magic is supposed to check up on magical children left with Muggles. The main thing that concerns myself and my government is that you allowed Delores Umbridge to put Mr. Potter on trial just because he lives overseas. I also understand she wanted him charged for casting the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup even though there was no evidence to suggest he did so. She had no right to do that nor did she have the right to place criminal restrictions on him. She also had no right to recommend he be sent to Azkaban."

"I tried to fight it, but she has more power than I do." Madam Bones said.

"This is what will happen. Pending the hearing, which will no doubt bring action against Dumbledore and your administration, you will remove the restriction on his mail and his movements. He will be permitted to go wherever he wants without an escort. Any mail he receives will be sent through my embassy and protected by diplomatic privilege. Charms will be put on the mail to prevent interception and illegal tampering. If this is not done, I will ask my government to bring things up with the International Confederation and have charges brought against you for espionage and I will recommend that diplomatic ties with England be cut."

"I'll do what I can." Madam Bones promised.

"Finally, I have been asked by my government to inform you that we will be perusing charges against Delores Umbridge for holding an illegal trial against an Australian citizen, especially a minor, who has committed no crimes. I find it interesting to find out that Sirius Black, who was suppose to have custody of Mr. Potter, was thrown straight into prison following the Potter's deaths, without a trial or a chance to tell his side of the story. Also, it appears Mrs. Falk was not informed of her sister's death and only found out thanks to the newspapers. One has to wonder why – maybe your administration knew the Dursleys were magic haters and it would be easy to get rid of a problem to your pureblood Death Eater friends without the need for an investigation into Mr. Potter's death or the need for money to change hands."

In the meantime, Sirius took an international Portkey to Sydney in order to talk to Sarak Falk. He got their address from Harry and knocked on their door. Aunt Sarah opened it, recognised Sirius and slapped him across the face.

"I suppose I deserved that." He said.

"What are you doing here Black?" Aunt Sarah asked, "Haven't you done enough damage?"

"Can I come in and speak to you please? I've come a long way and hate to leave without achieving something." Sirius asked.

"Very well." Aunt Sarah said and led Sirius into the dining room where her two daughters were eating breakfast and her husband Alex was reading the paper.

"This is my husband Alex and our daughters Isobel and Miranda," Aunt Sarah began, "This is Sirius Black, Harry's godfather."

"What do you want?" Alex asked.

"Just to talk and clear some things up," Sirius said, "First of all, I want to thank you for what you've done for Harry. Secondly, I want to assure you that I had nothing to do with his abduction by the British Ministry. It was all done by Albus Dumbledore. I first heard about it when Dumbledore told me that Harry had been found and rescued by our Aurors and that a court case was due to be held over his guardianship."

"We know about the attempts of your Ministry to brand him a criminal," Aunt Sarah asked, "and we will not stand for it. Our government are going to fight this to the highest level. I don't know how things work in England, but we don't go about abducting English citizens, especially children. I will not stand by and let your corrupt government break up my family. I will tell you now that my daughters cried their eyes out for hours when they heard their 'big brother' had been taken away and they might never see him again."

"I'm sorry about that," Sirius said, "The facts of the case are – Harry is staying at a foster home until this whole mess is sorted out and will have to go to Hogwarts in the meantime," Sirius continued, "The Weasley family are old friends of mine, they have seven children of their own and will make sure Harry is well looked after. When it comes to the guardianship hearing, I will have to speak a case for me having guardianship.."

"Then we have nothing else to say." Aunt Sarah interrupted, raising her wand to remove Sirius from the premises.

"Wait a moment," Sirius pleaded, "Our Ministry likes to bend laws. I spent five years in Azkaban without a trial because it was assumed I betrayed your sister and brother-in-law. What I think is that because either of us should have got custody of Harry following their deaths, they threw me in prison and not informed you, so they could send him to registered magic haters. When it was proven that I was innocent, because I'm the head of an ancient and noble house, the Ministry bent over backwards to gain my support and I think that is why they're doing this regarding Harry. I'm hoping the custody case rules in your favour. If they rule in my favour, I will sign custody over to you. I would rather Harry stay somewhere where he will be happy rather than somewhere he would be unhappy. We have to fight our individual cases here – if both of us lose the case and Dumbledore wins, Harry will have to be returned to the Dursleys."

"There is no way in hell he is returning to my supposed sister and her violent psychpath for a husband." Aunt Sarah said.

"Then we had better make sure neither of us lose," Sirius said, "Because Harry is a legal Australian citizen with strong ties with your community along with being a student at Sydney Academy, it's being held by the International Confederation of Wizards. I believe your case is the strongest so with any luck, you will win."

In Australia, the Australian Minister of Magic was in a meeting with the new Chief Warlock of the International Confederation of Wizards. Dumbledore had been voted out of office over the whole Harry Potter matter.

"It has been voted that because the terms of James and Lily Potter's wills were violated, there will be a hearing into Sirius Black, Sarah Falk and Albus Dumbledore's claims over Harry Potter." The Chief Warlock said.

"Mr. Potter is a legal Australian citizen," the Minister said, "I've examined the wills myself and have had our top legal experts studying them and they tell me that because Sirius Black was incarcerated, Mrs. Sarah Falk's custody of Mr. Potter was perfectly legal. What was not legal was the Dursleys signing him over to her. Be warned, we are prepared to make a big deal over this, especially over Delores Umbridge's attempts to put Mr. Potter in Azkaban. Our representatives will be dealing with this during the hearing."

Little did they know, there was going to be another bombshell dropped soon.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Apologies for the huge delay in a new chapter.. I've been ill again and have had a lot of things on my mind. I hope to keep updates more consistent in future.**_

**Chapter Three**

"How do you get to school in Sydney?" Ginny Weasley asked. It was a week later - they were on the Hogwarts Express making their way to Hogwarts. Harry was surprised they used a train to go to Hogwarts, although Aunt Sarah had already told him about it when telling stories of her time at school.

"It depends on where you are in relation to the school," Harry began, "Because I live in Sydney, my Aunt Sarah takes me in a Muggle car to an underground car park, which is apparently hidden from the Muggles. From there, you walk through a passage which takes you to the main hall."

"Wow," Ron said.

"If you live in another of the Australian cities, you might also get taken in a Muggle car or bus, depending on circumstances. If you lived in say Adelaide or Melbourne, you would use a Portkey if you're Muggle born or Muggle raised or if you have a family member who can, you can apparate there. The Portkey and apparation point is in a special room next to the underground car park."

"Why can't we have something like that at Hogwarts?" Ron asked, "These train journeys get rather boring, not to mention we have to get up really early."

Harry knew exactly how he felt – Mrs. Weasley had them all up at 5 AM. Following a major rush in which all the Weasleys had forgotten to pack items, there was breakfast in which they were only given two minutes to eat before more packing had to be done. Harry had packed his trunk the previous night. Sirius had to check it – he told Harry it was better than the Aurors executing a search warrant issued by Umbridge. They then used a magically expanded Ford Anglia (which Harry was sure was illegal, it would be in Australia) to drive to King's Cross Station (after refusing to return to collect items that had still been forgotten, Mrs. Weasley told them that she would have them sent on – Ginny pouted because she had forgotten her diary and no amounts of looking cute and innocent would make Mr. Weasley turn back).

While Harry was talking to Ginny, the compartment door opened and a voice could be heard.

"Hey, Weasley," the voice said, apparently addressing Ron, "You planning on entering and earning some much needed glory for your family?"

"Entering what?" Ron asked.

"You don't know – a brother along with your father working for the Ministry," the boy said, "I've known since Minister Fudge told my father. I suppose it pays to have good connections."

"Actually, you're talking about the Triwizard Tournament." Harry said. Everyone looked at him, "I've known since Dumbledore tried to talk the Sydney Academy into participating earlier this year. The school took a vote on the matter and the majority said no. I was one of the people who said no."

"Who are you?" the boy asked.

"Who are you?" Harry asked.

"Draco Malfoy," the boy said, "and you are?"

"Harry Potter."

"You should be able to do better for yourself, Potter," Malfoy said, "Hanging about with blood traitors – you won't get far at Hogwarts hanging about with them."

"Actually Malfoy, I would rather be anywhere than here," Harry said, "I was only staying with them because your precious Minister Fudge and that idiot Dumbledore said I had to. I don't blame the Weasleys at all and if you looked beyond prejudice and tried to get along, you'll find some people pleasant company."

"Things are different at Hogwarts, Potter," Malfoy said, "Forget what you learnt at that school you've been attending about how Purebloods and Mudbloods should get along and members of other houses associating. You're a Potter, which - like the Malfoys - are a pureblood family. I'm prepared to overlook the fact your father dirtied his line by marrying a Muggleborn, I can help you find your proper place in our society."

He held out his hand – Harry looked at it.

"I'll think about it alright," Harry said, "If what you say is true and members of different houses don't associate or get along, it'll be best to save it IF I get sorted into Slytherin. I don't think your father would be too happy if you made friends with me now only for me to be sorted into a house other than Slytherin."

"You have a point there, Potter," Draco said, "If you get sorted into Slytherin, maybe we can be friends."

"Maybe." Harry said.

Draco and his two friends left the compartment.

"Are you serious about being friends with him?" Ron asked.

"Not really," Harry said, "I can't see me being sorted into Slytherin. I know my parents were in Gryffindor and going by your family, I might end up in there or Ravenclaw, but I won't be here long enough to participate in house rivalries. Also, it was an easy way to shut him up – either that or hex him and I don't want to give them an excuse to find some reason to keep me here in England."

"Welcome, everyone, to a new year at Hogwarts." Dumbledore said at a stand, "Before we sort our new students, I wish to announce that Harry Potter will finally be attending Hogwarts after three years at the Sydney Academy of Magic and he will be sorted first."

Harry walked in from the Entrance Hall (where the first years were waiting) and walked towards a stool, standing next to which was who he was told was the Transfiguration teacher, Head of Gryffindor and Deputy Headmistress Minvera McGonagall. She was holding some raggy old looking hat. He sat on the stool and McGonagall put the hat on him.

_Welcome at last Harry Potter. So, you've been at another school all this time. I know you don't want to be here, but it's best to play along with everyone's delusions for now__.__ If you don't let me sort you, then it will mean the Ministry will snap your wand and bind your magic and you will never see your family in Australia again. But where to put you? Your mother would set me on fire from beyond the grave if I put you into Slytherin. Sarah Evans would do the same. Hufflepuff isn't right for you, so it's a tie between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, let me think._

After a few moments, it made its decision.

"RAVENCLAW!" it shouted. The Ravenclaw table clapped as Harry walked over there. He sat next to a girl who was wearing a prefect badge.

"Marianne Valentine," she said, shaking Harry's hand, "it's a pleasure to meet you. If you wait after the feast, I'll show you to the common room."

"Thank you." Harry said.

McGonagall then brought in the first year students to be sorted. Dumbledore then stood back up at his stand following the sorting.

"Now we're all settled in and sorted, I'd like to make an announcement. This castle will not only be your home this year but home to some very special guests as well. You see Hogwarts has been chosen..."

A man came in and ran up the aisle limping in a comical way, he whispered something to Dumbledore before leaving in the same fashion.

"So Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event - the Tri-Wizard tournament. Now for those of you who do not know, the tri-wizard tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school a single contestant is selected to compete. Now let me be clear, if chosen you stand alone. And trust me when I say these contests are not for the faint-hearted, but more of that later. For now please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and their headmistress Madam Maxime."

A group of girls dressed in blue dance up the aisle and release butterflies into the air. Harry could notice Ron and all the other boys staring at them. He saw the final girl and recognised her. As the students reached the end of the rows, they bowed and everyone applauds. A very tall woman followed them.

"Blimey, that's one big woman." One Gryffindor was heard to remark.

"And now our friends from the north, please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang and their high master Igor Karkaroff!" Dumbledore finished.

A series of older boys walked into the hall and up the aisle brandishing bo staffs, twirling them around and periodically stabbing them into the ground sending up sparks. The students saw a very familiar face walking behind the group.

"Blimey it's him, Viktor Krum!" Ron exclaimed.

At the end of the display, two of the Drumstrang students breathed fire which were shaped like dragons. The Durmstrang headmaster and Dumbledore then shared an embrace. The Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students went to find seats.

"Fleur!" Harry called out, "Over here."

The French girl walked over to Harry.

"Harry! What are you doing here?" Fleur Delacour asked.

"Long story, I'll explain in a minute." He said. She sat down. Marianne turned to Harry.

"How do you know her?" she asked.

"I went to Sydney on an exchange trip and met Harry. He showed me the ropes and we became good friends." Fleur said.

The caretaker and some people had just brought in a huge thing and placed it in front of the staff table. Dumbledore came up to it.

"Your attention please! I would like to say a few words. Eternal glory, that is what awaits the student who wins the tri-wizard tournament. But to do this that student must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks. For this reason the ministry has seen fit to impose a new rule. To explain all this we have the head of the department of international magic cooperation Mister Bartimus Crouch."

Clunking could be heard and everyone looked as a strange looking man walked into the Great Hall.

"It's Mad-Eye Moody." Marianne said.

"Who?" Harry and Fleur asked.

"He was an Auror. Half the cells in Azkaban are full thanks to him. He's supposed to be mad as a hatter though these days."

As the man walked to the desk, a Ministry official stepped forward.

"After much deliberation the ministry has concluded that for their own safety no student under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to put forth their name for the tri-wizard tournament. This decision is final." Mr. Crouch said.

"That's rubbish! You don't know what you're doing!" George Weasley shouted.

"Silence!" Dumbledore shouted, before waving his wand over the box which melted away, revealing a big goblet, filled with blue flames. "The Goblet of Fire. Anyone wishing to submit themselves for the tournament merely write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly, if chosen there's no turning back. As from this moment, the tri-wizard tournament has begun."

In the Ravenclaw Common Room, Harry saw someone familiar. Harry walked over to her.

"Hello, Harry Potter." Luna Lovegood said.

"Hello, Luna." Harry said, "It's good to see you again. Did you end up finding any Nargles?"

Luna and her father had gone to Australia during the Christmas Holidays to look for some creatures called Nargles. She met Harry by chance in a forest just near his house and the two became firm friends. She promised not to tell anyone at Hogwarts where he was – she had told him that Dumbledore was looking for him.

"Yes, we did. Thank you for pointing us in the right direction," she said, "what are you doing here?"

"Dumbledore had me snatched from the Quidditch World Cup and now I'm being forced to attend Hogwarts." He answered.

"You'll be back at your school soon." Luna replied.

Harry's first lesson was Potions and it was a Ravenclaw/Slytherin joint class. Terry Boot told him that it was strange since they normally had Potions with the Hufflepuffs. Snape was right on Harry's case the moment the lesson started.

"Mr. Potter, so you finally see fit to attend Hogwarts. Just because you got it easy from a former colony of criminals doesn't mean you'll get the same treatment from me. Like your father, I'd expect no more than cheating and sabotage."

"As it happens _Professor _Snape, I got my Potions lessons at Sydney from Timothy Crichton, who as I understand, is a worldwide Potions Master. Incidentally, when the Australian Embassy passed on some messages from the Academy, Professor Crichton asked me to say hello for him and to respectfully remind you that you owe him fifty galleons from your last Poker game." Harry answered. Snape didn't say anything but put the day's Potion on the board and told them to get to work. Without Snape noticing, Harry erected a small barrier around his cauldron.

"I've heard things about these classes from the Weasleys," Harry explained to Terry in a whisper, "We brewed this Potion during my second year at the Academy."

An hour later, Snape went around checking the potions. As predicted, all the Slytherin potions were passed. He came to Harry's potion and took one look at it. He grunted and reluctantly gave it an E grade. Snape admitted to himself that the potion was good and it could not be faulted. After the students were dismissed, he held Harry back a moment.

"When you get in touch with Timothy Crichton, tell him I'll get the money to him eventually, but a good Potions Master should not feel the need to cheat." He said.

"I'll be sure to let him know, sir." Harry answered.

After the lesson finished, Terry took Harry aside. "If you don't want to be here, why do the work?"

"I'm not going to give them an excuse to bind my magic and send me somewhere very unpleasant."

The following day, Hedwig flew in and dropped a letter in front of Harry. He took it, then felt himself being scanned then the letter opened for him. Harry took it out and read it.

"It's from the International Confederation – a hearing into my guardianship has been arranged for the weekend." He said to Marianne, who was next to him.

That night, it was time for the Goblet of Fire to decide on the contestants for the Triwizard.

"It is almost time for the Goblet to choose our champions," Dumbledore said, "I calculate it will take a few more minutes." He waved his hand and the torches around the room went out, leaving only the bright blue light from the Goblet lighting the room. The flame died down a little then spat out a piece of parchment. Dumbledore reached over and grabbed it.

"The Durmstrang champion is Viktor Krum!" Dumbledore said, reading it. There was a massive round of applause for the Quidditch star, who left the Great Hall and went into a small room to the side. A couple of seconds later, the goblet spat out another piece of parchment, this time resembling a circle.

"The Beaubatons champion is Fleur Delacour." There was even more applause as the tall girl got up and went into the same room as Krum. After a couple more seconds, another piece of parchment was spat out of the goblet, which was caught by Dumbledore.

"The Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory!" There was an even louder round of applause as Cedric Diggory – a Hufflepuff student got up and left the hall.

"We have our three champions. I hope you will support them..." Dumbledore began, but noticed everyone was staring at the goblet, which was spitting blue flames again. A piece of parchment flew out of the goblet and into Dumbledore's hands.

"Harry Potter?" Dumbledore asked, looking at the parchment. "Harry Potter!"

"What's going on?" Harry asked, "Is that thing working right?" Everyone was staring at him.

"Harry – you have to come up." Dumbledore said.

Reluctantly, Harry got up and went into the side room.

"Is there something wrong?" Fleur asked.

Before Harry could say anything, Dumbledore, Professors McGonagall and Snape along with Barty Crouch, Madam Maxime and Karkaoff came in.

"Did you put your name in the Goblet or ask someone to do it for you?" Dumbledore asked.

"No." Harry said.

"He's lying – he wants to give Hogwarts a second chance at victory." Maxime said.

"I agree – I didn't know the host school was allowed two champions, unless I didn't read the rule book right." Karkaoff said.

"Listen here," Harry said, "I don't care about giving victory to Hogwarts. I don't even want to be here. I'd rather be at Sydney than here. Especially with him (Harry pointed at Snape) making snide remarks to me about my father and the fact that I chose another school rather than go here. Another thing – what is Professor Snape doing here in this meeting when it does not concern him, or is it just another excuse for him to make jibes about me and my family?"

No-one said anything. McGonagall glared at Snape. She had warned him before term began that she was not going to tolerate any jibes from Snape to Harry, just because he looked like James Potter.

"Professors, Headmistress, Mr. Crouch," Fleur began, "I know Harry here, I met him on an exchange trip to Sydney two years ago. If he says he didn't put his name in the Goblet, then I believe him and I will help him through this."

Barty Crouch stepped forward. "I will order the Goblet of Fire to be examined. In the meantime, we have four champions. The first task will take place on October 30th and I recommend that our champions familiarise themselves with the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade Village." And with that, Crouch walked out. Minutes later, the students were dismissed.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks for all the kind words people sent to me yesterday. It's not easy writing as on Monday, I burnt both my hands while cooking! I've decided to upload the next chapter._

**Chapter Four**

The following day, Harry walked through the school with some people watching him. He went to the Great Hall and sat down at the Ravenclaw table. Several people walked up to him.

"We believe you didn't put your name in," Marianne (the Prefect) said, "We heard rumours that some people have been plotting for things to happen should you turn up at Hogwarts."

Harry looked bemused.

"There are some people who worked for You-Know-Who before you vanquished him," Marianne continued, "and they got away with the crimes they committed, due to either bribery or claims of being under the Imperius curse, which were never investigated. My father told me that they swore revenge on you for destroying their master. It seems, Lucius Malfoy planted an enchanted diary on a Gryffindor student which forced her to open a legendary chamber of secrets and released the monster of Slytherin. We overheard Draco Malfoy brag about it and was hoping you would turn up that year, just so it could kill you, leaving his father's hands clean. It is because of this, we believe you. Just a word of warning though, Cedric Diggory is a Quidditch hero for Hufflepuff, so they won't take this well."

"Thank you." Harry said, "What happened about that incident?"

"There's a rumour going about that Dumbledore's phoenix rescued the student and destroyed the monster of Slytherin while Dumbledore himself destroyed the enchanted diary. Everything else about it is being kept a secret."

Until today, Harry had no idea what the Gryffindors were like in class. He didn't see how much Ron knew as Molly Weasley wouldn't allow magic to be practiced during the holidays, although Harry knew that the Ministry would have no way of knowing who was casting the spells (in Sydney, underage magic was permitted as long as it was in the confines of the witch or wizard's home and if Muggles were in the house, they had to know about magic in the first place – Harry's Uncle Alex had full knowledge of magic, he was a Squib and his parents were magical but unlike England, the Australians didn't disown Squibs). (What Molly Weasley didn't know was that when he and Ron were supposed to be sleeping (they were sharing a room), Harry taught Ron spells that he learnt at Sydney the previous year). The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were in the same class and it was being taught by Professor McGonagall. She was teaching Switching Spells, which Harry had already learnt the previous year at Sydney. Somehow, one Gryffindor (Harry later learnt his name was Neville Longbottom) managed to transfigure his ears onto a cactus. Harry noted that Neville was suffering from a severe lack of confidence. McGonagall gave a few words, she warned that the OWLs were approaching and they needed all the practice they could get.

"May I remind you, Mr. Thomas," she said, addressing a black Gryffindor boy who had protested, "Your pincushion still curls up in fear if you try to approach it with pins. It pains me to think that none of my Gryffindors can produce a satisfactory transfiguration from hedgehog to pincushion."

She decided to turn to Harry. "Mr. Potter – let's see what they've been teaching you at Sydney." She passed a hedgehog over to Harry who within seconds, turned it into a perfect pincushion (he had been taught that the previous year too).

"Five points to Ravenclaw," she said, "It seems your time has not been wasted."

The rest of the lesson went alright (Ron managed to do a good transformation but wasn't perfect but still earned a few points for Gryffindor) but McGonagall had one more thing to say before the class was dismissed.

"Longbottom – kindly do NOT reveal in front of anyone from Durmstrang or Beauxbatons that you cannot perform a simple Switching Spell. It's bad enough Mr. Potter had to witness it."

"Is she always like this?" Harry asked Ron not long after the lesson finished.

"Most of the time," Ron said, "She and Snape tie for the most unpopular teacher in the school. At least she doesn't bully Neville all of the time. At the last count, Neville's melted at least a dozen cauldrons in Potions."

"Does everyone bully him?" Harry asked.

"Snape and the Slytherins do – they practically call him a Squib most of the time. His best subject is Herbology but he can't fly a broom to save his life. During flying lessons in our first year, his broom went out of control and he fell off, breaking his wrist. When Madam Hooch took him to the Hospital Wing, Malfoy took his Remembrall that his grandmother sent him that day and threw it against a wall, smashing it. We think either money changed hands or Snape stepped in as despite being over twenty witnesses to it, he didn't even get a detention." Ron answered.

Two days later, Harry and Dumbledore went to the Ministry of Magic for his hearing, presided over by the International Confederation of Wizardry. The Australian Ambassador was there to look after Harry's interests, the case facing major uproar back in Australia. There were calls for an Australian Auror squad to go to England to remove Harry, but the Australian Minister told the people via the newspaper that everything would be done legally without the need for violence.

"This is a hearing convened by the International Confederation of Wizardry. It is to cover the abduction of Harry James Potter on order of Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore and the future custody of Harry Potter. Filing for custody of Harry James Potter are Mrs. Sarah Falk, Lord Sirius Black, Professor Albus Dumbledore and Lord Lucius Malfoy," Warlock Jansen said (there were many gasps from the crowd), "The chair recognises Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore stepped forward. "When Harry's parents were murdered by Voldemort, I took the decision to place Harry in the custody of his Muggle aunt and uncle. Lily Potter's sacrifice created a bond which protected Harry from harm if he could call his aunt's home his home. I wanted him raised a Muggle with no knowledge of magic until it was time to attend Hogwarts."

"Then why," the Warlock asked, "Does the reports from Vernon and Petunia Dursley themselves along with medical reports from the time of the adoption confirm that Mr. Potter had been close to death because of their savage beatings, in desperation to make him a Muggle?"

"I made a mistake there Warlock. I had wards on the house to inform me on his well-being plus a Squib agent. Both reported that Harry had vanished and the Dursleys would not tell us what happened. I therefore had to report him missing. We didn't think to look out of the country. When one of my agents reported seeing him at the Quidditch World Cup, I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to retrieve him. For all I knew, he was in danger. I believe it is in his best interests to be isolated from our world when not at school – it places him in too much danger and being placed with the Dursleys will ensure that."

"Very well Dumbledore, we will decide your fate later on hearing the rest of the evidence." He turned to Sirius Black. "Mr. Black, please give me a good reason why you should be awarded custody over Alex and Sarah Falk, who happens to be Lily Potter's twin sister?"

"Chief Warlock, I was named in James and Lily's will as Harry's guardian in the event of their deaths. Mrs. Falk, then Miss. Evans, was named as secondary guardian in case I was unable to take custody. I feel Harry's best interests are served by being in England." Sirius Black said.

"Then why did you allow a Rubeus Hagrid to take him to the Dursley household, knowing what they are like, then go and hunt down Peter Pettigrew, then allow yourself to be thrown into Azkaban. How could you serve Harry's best interests in prison?"

"Hagrid was acting on orders from Dumbledore – I knew that I had no chance of getting Harry. My intention was to capture Peter, hand him over to the Ministry and then get Harry. When that happened, I decided to go and get Pettigrew. It was common knowledge that I was the Potter's secret keeper but he was. Barty Crouch was not one to conduct fair trials and would have imprisoned me. I needed Peter as proof that I was not the secret keeper." Sirius said.

"You may step down." Sirius stepped down. "The chair now calls Mrs. Sarah Falk." Warlock Jansen said.

Sarah stood up. She explained how the Dursleys met her during her wedding and signed custody of Harry over to her, telling her that he was just a pointless freak which no-one wanted. She had made it clear to Petunia that despite what she thought of magic, it was no excuse to treat Harry they way they did. Signed witness statements on how well Harry was treated by the Falks were entered into evidence. The Academy's Headmistress reported on how excellent his grades were.

"We now call Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge." The Warlock said. Fudge sat down in the chair.

"We know the legend of Harry Potter and how much this country thinks of him. Why isn't he allowed to live a life other citizens are entitled to?" the Warlock asked.

"Because he is a national treasure, it is in his best interests to remain in England. We have a placement with the Auror Office ready for him when he graduates from Hogwarts and there are plans to find him a nice pureblood wife who will bare him a family." Fudge said.

"And what Mr. Potter wants doesn't matter?" the Warlock asked.

"When it comes to Mr. Potter, then no." Fudge said. There were many shouts of disbelief from visiting Australians. The Warlock had to call for order and the noise slowly died down.

"Well, as it happens," the Warlock said, consulting some papers he had been given, "He has no interest in becoming an Auror. He has another career in mind and has an apprenticeship in place for it after he finishes school. Why did you allow Delores Umbridge, your undersecretary, to impose restrictions on him as if he was a criminal?"

"Delores felt that Mr. Potter was a criminal and a traitor, leaving this country to live in Australia. She had wanted the Potter Estate confiscated for what she called a treasonous crime. She told me that by imposing these restrictions should prevent further crimes in the future." Fudge said.

"We shall be dealing with her later. She has violated several laws by imposing criminal restrictions against a minor citizen of another country without cause. It might interest you to know that the Australian Ministry has issued a warrant for her arrest and a request for extradition."

He turned to Lucius Malfoy who took a seat.

"Lord Malfoy, your claim for custody is the most recent. As this court engages in fair play, we will listen to you – please tell the court why you should have custody of Mr. Potter over these other people."

"Chief Warlock, Mr. Potter is related to my family though my wife, who is a granddaughter of Cygnus Potter, who was the husband of Druella Black. Cygnus Potter's brother, Charles, is Harry's grandfather. The law states that close blood relations on the magical side have first say on guardianship. So, unless there is any objection, I believe my wife is more entitled to custody over everyone else in this room. We have a good home, I have a son and I will make sure Harry is well looked after."

"Thank you Lord Malfoy, you may step down," the Chief Warlock said, "We will now hear from Mr. Potter."

Harry took a seat.

"Mr. Potter, before your trip to England to see the Quidditch World Cup, had you met Lord Black, Professor Dumbledore or Lord Malfoy before?"

"I probably knew Lord Black and Professor Dumbledore before my parents' deaths but to the best of my knowledge, I've never seen Lord Malfoy until the World Cup – I saw him walking to the top box with Minister Fudge. I thought nothing of it at the time as I didn't know who either was." Harry began. He had another comment in mind but was mature enough to keep it to himself.

"In your own words, what are the finances and home life like at the Falk household?" the Warlock asked.

"My Uncle Alex has a good paying job – he's head of a major hotel and leisure complex and brings home a very good wage. Aunt Sarah doesn't work, she stays at home to raise my two young cousins. She did tell me that when my Muggle grandparents died, they split their estate three ways, but Aunt Petunia tried to keep it all for herself. She told me my father paid for it all to go to court and it ended up fairly divided."

"What about the Potter money? Does any of that get used for your upkeep?" the Warlock asked.

"No," Harry said, "I've known about it since I was told I was a wizard by Aunt Sarah. My trust fund is used to cover school expenses and any other purchases I make which uses wizarding money. I am given pocket money in Muggle currency. As for my home life, it's great. I have friends in the neighbourhood – both Muggle and Magical. My young cousins see me more as a big brother than a cousin and I take great delight in tormenting them and they love it, especially 'tickle torture'. No-one pays attention to the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing over there, which pleases me. I hate it! Why should I gain fame when my parents were murdered?"

"Thank you Mr. Potter, you may step down. We will now retire to consider our verdict." The Warlock answered. Ten minutes later, they returned.

"It has been decided that Albus Dumbledore, while acting in what he thought was Mr. Potter's best interests, overstepped his authority. He is fined a total of 5,000 galleons. He is also fined an additional 10,000 galleons for overriding the Potter's custodial preferences. Sirius Black – your application for custody of Harry Potter is thrown out. We have concluded that you did not act in his best interests following the deaths of his parents. Lord Malfoy – it concerns us that a former Death Eater is seeking custody of the Boy-Who –Lived."

"I was under the Imperius curse!" Malfoy shouted.

"Those claims were not proven and if it was up to me, I would have you questioned via Veritaserum here and now. The fact you were freed without trial based on the words Imperius Curse does not matter here, what does matter that you were part of Lord Voldemort's inner circle. We find it will not be in Mr. Potter's best interests for him to live with you. These custody rulings are final, with prejudice."

Both Sirius and Lucius looked as if they didn't know what he meant.

"It means, Lords Black and Malfoy, you cannot refile for custody later on. Mrs. Sarah Falk – your application to continue your present custody arrangements is granted. Mr. Potter, I understand that you are still healing from a serious Quidditch injury? (Harry nodded) Was it made clear to you that for medical reasons, you could either forfeit the Triwizard Tournament or appoint someone else to take your place?"

"No, it was not made clear. All that happened during that meeting was the Headmistress and Headmaster of Beaubatons and Durmstrang accusing Hogwarts of cheating while Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons champion, defended me against their accusations. Then Mr. Crouch informed us about the first task. Not once was the choice of forfeiting or nominating a replacement made. I did attempt to look up the rule book in the Hogwarts library the following day and was told that the book had been removed from the library the day before term began." Harry answered.

"That is serious," the Warlock said, "Had you been given the chance to forfeit or appoint another champion in your place during that first meeting, you would have been able to leave the tournament without consequence, and then you could have returned home today. Now because of it, you have to compete, or at least, attend the tasks. However, despite the fact Mr. Potter did not enter himself and due to misconduct on the part of the Triwizard judges in not informing him about his rights, he will not be representing Hogwarts but his rightful school – the Sydney Academy. Mr. Potter – you should know that on attending the tasks, if you feel you cannot perform in a task due to medical reasons, you have the right to forfeit that task. I find it very suspicious that the rule book on the Triwizard was removed from the Hogwarts library."

"Thank you." Harry said.

"Our next ruling is that the criminal restrictions against him be rescinded. As the Australian Ambassador made it clear to you before, all his owl post is to be unrestricted and it is protected by diplomatic immunity. Mr. Potter has committed no crimes. He left the country legally and although he was left with one of his relations, his Australian citizenship is legal in both the Muggle and Magical worlds. In other words Minister Fudge, if your Aurors or any other member of your staff interfere with his mail, then the people involved will be arrested for espionage. At the end of the Triwizard Tournament, wherever Mr. Potter wins or not, he will be permitted to return to Australia unmolested should he choose to."

"Sir," Harry said, "During that farce of a hearing, my bag was confiscated on orders of Delores Umbridge, citing it was evidence in a criminal investigation and while Amelia Bones of the DMLE authorised it's return, several letters I had in the bag were not returned to me."

"Finally, we are granting the extradition request of the Australian Ministry. Aurors will arrest Delores Umbridge and surrender her to the Australian Ambassador, who will have her transported to Australia for questioning over her crimes against an Australian citizen. Your statement about your belongings is serious Mr. Potter. Her office will be searched for these letters."

Five minutes later, Delores Umbridge was brought in kicking and screaming by ICW Aurors. She was taken over to Ambassador Ramsey and the Australian Aurors. An ICW Auror walked up to the Warlock with rolls of parchment and a pile of papers.

"She tried to burn these when we apprehended her." He said, handing them over.

The Warlock unrolled it and read it. "We're always fascinated when we see death warrants, especially against minors and those who have done nothing wrong. Let the record show that ICW Auror Peter Bischoff has just given the Chief Warlock a roll of parchment which authorises the use of the Dementor's Kiss on Harry James Potter, to be carried out on the first trip to Hogsmeade. It also appears that all it needs is the signature of Cornelius Fudge. I was also handed over letters addressed to Mr. Potter from various friends and family members in Australia. There are also international arrest and death warrants for Mrs. Sarah Falk, Mr. Alexander Falk, Miss. Miranda Falk, Miss. Isobel Falk, Professor Helen Daniels of the Sydney Academy. Dementors were to be sent to their places of residence and all were to be kissed. Two of the above named are minors under the age of five."

All the Australian representatives went purple and it looked like there was going to be a riot. Ambassador Ramsey stood up.

"Chief Warlock, in light of this new evidence, we will be adding charges of attempted murder to her indictment." He said.

Fudge then stood up. "I would never authorise the use of the Dementor's Kiss on children." He protested.

"We will be giving you the benefit of the doubt for now Minister," Ambassador Ramsey said, "Pending a full investigation. We have enough evidence to lock your Senior Undersecretary up for a very long time. With your permission Chief Warlock, we will now take the prisoner away. We will send the results of our investigation to both you and the English Ministry upon it's completion." An Auror gave the rolls of parchment to Ramsey. The letters were returned to Harry.

"You haven't heard the last of me!" Umbridge shouted as Ramsey activated a Portkey.

Harry returned to school to find certain people, mostly Slytherins, some Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors wearing badges. They read: **SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY, THE TRUE HOGWARTS CHAMPION**.

"Fancy a laugh Potter?" Draco Malfoy asked, although Harry had met him on the Hogwarts Express, he knew nothing about the boy besides the fact he was in Slytherin and he sabotaged people's potions. Some students were watching. He pushed the badge and the words **POTTER STINKS** appeared. On other badges, the alternative messages were: **POTTER IS A CHEAT AND A LIAR** and **POTTER IS A DEAD MAN**. Harry just ignored him and turned to walk away.

"How dare you ignore your masters, Potter!" Malfoy shouted, "I am a pureblood and you are the son of a mudblood whore and you will obey me!" Harry continued walking. Malfoy got his wand out and started to speak an unforgivable.

"Oh no you don't!" Mad Eye Moody said, using his wand and Malfoy vanished. A white ferret was in his place. Moody used his wand to levitate the animal and bounce it up and down on the floor. He then stuffed the ferret down another Slytherin's trousers. Everyone started laughing but stopped as a familiar voice could be heard.

"Professor Moody!" it was Professor McGonagall, "What are you doing?"

"Teaching." Moody said without a care in the world.

"Is that a student?" McGonagall asked.

"Technically, it's a ferret." Moody answered. McGonagall waved her wand and Malfoy turned back to normal.

"My father will have you in prison for this!" he said, "and he'll have your families because you laughed at your pureblood master."

"Your father!" Moody shouted, "I could tell you things about your father that would make even your greasy hair curl!" He grabbed the boy.

"We don't use transfiguration as a punishment," McGonagall said, "We give detentions and deduct house points."

"Very well, fifty points for that Muggleborn slur, Malfoy," Moody said, "Another twenty points for threatening fellow students, thirty points for attempting to cast an Unforgivable and finally, another fifty points for threatening a teacher!"

"Isn't that a bit excessive, Alastor?" McGonagall asked.

"Not really," Moody said, "I hear Snape deducts worse than that from Gryffindors just for breathing too loud in his class. Also, he's getting off lightly for that attempt to cast an unforgivable. He's also getting a month of detention for it. I heard YOU deducted three hundred points from two Gryffindors who were out after curfew a few years ago because they were taking a friend to the hospital wing and never restored them after you found out the truth."

McGonagall quickly shut up and walked away.

_I know that Moody turning Malfoy into a ferret has been done so many times, but it has to be done._


End file.
